This Skillshare Student Launched Her First Freelance Business. Here’s How.

Meet Jena Buckwell, a freelance Graphic Designer and Art Director who enrolled in a number of Skillshare classes to strengthen her Design portfolio. She’s enrolled in classes ranging from Photoshop, Logo Design, Contract Writing for Freelancers and Digital Strategy which also helped launch her freelance business off the ground. Read more about Jena’s story:

I am a Designer and Art Director based out of Staunton, VA, recently transplanted from NYC. I spent the majority of my time in New York working in fashion editorial, both as a freelancer and full-time. While I really love designing and art directing for fashion, I never really enjoyed the environment of fashion editorial and I really didn’t like living in NYC, so after 3 years of “paying dues” I decided to move somewhere beautiful, where I would have time and energy to pursue other interests, be creative and enjoy a slower pace.

I started getting really into Skillshare when I first started thinking about moving and going off on my own to start my own business. Taking Skillshare classes has helped me to develop and strengthen my portfolio outside the world of editorial, gain confidence in my business strategies and served as a way to just enjoy designing without clients or deadlines.

One of the most helpful classes I’ve taken on Skillshare was Contract Writing for Freelancers with Margot Harrington. I think that the business side of freelancing can be very intimidating to a lot of creatives and having a class really walk through what needs to be in a contract, was incredibly helpful and actually led to me approaching a client (and former employer) in NYC with a longer-term contract proposal, which has provided me with the majority of my work since moving to Virginia.

I think it’s important to think of Skillshare as a supplement to a design education. I wouldn’t consider it a replacement to my traditional four-year design education, but it is truly an irreplaceable supplement to what I learned during my time there and a wonderful place for design professionals to explore their own style, keep fresh and gain new skills.